Passenger carrying toy



Nov. 3, 1970 R. H. coNovER 3,537,726

PASSENGER CARRYING TOY Filed March 4, 196s @of (ZA/ame IIIIIIIIII Roy H. Conover, Edinburgh-Windsor Road, Box

U.s. Cl. 28o- 206 3,537,726 l PASSENGER CARRYING TOY 161A 3 Rte. 1, Hightstown, NJ. 08520 Filed Mar. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 710,220

Int. Cl. B62k 1/00 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF I'I-IE DISCLOSURE A passenger carrying rolling toy of the type comprised 'of a cylindrical body has finger gripping means with holes BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Prior art passenger carrying rolling toys are generally comprised of hoop-like members with transverse supports which must be screwed or Welded together prior to use. One disadvantage of such toys is that the screws generally loosenand may cause the toy to fall apart, making it dangerous for a child passenger. Also, in order for the toy to be suiiiciently strong, the hoops were generally made of metal. This made the toy heavier and more costly than desirable. Another disadvantage of prior art rolling toys of the relatively inexpensive type is that adequate means for supporting oneself within the toy were not provided.

It is therefore an object of this invention to` provide an improved passenger carrying rolling type toy.

It is a further object to provide such a toy which has adequate means for supporting oneself therein and which is capable of being made inexpensively.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A passenger carrying rolling toy of the type comprised of an essentially cylindrical body having a width and an inner diameter large enough to completely contain said passenger therein in a seated position has two sets of finger gripping means. Eaeh set of these finger gripping means is recessed from an outer peripheral edge of the cylindrical body and extends circumferentially around the inner diameter of the body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the invention in one of its simplest forms.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of still another embodiment of the invention showing additional features of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure shown in FIG. l is a cross sectional view of a simple embodiment of the invention. This and other embodiments offer an inexpensive passenger carrying rolling toy for children. It is comprised of a cylindrical or barrel shaped body 10. The inside diameter of the body is large enough to allow a child to sit therein. The inner portion of the body 10 has finger gripping means 11 and -12 extending circumferentially around the inner cylindrical surface 13 of the body 10 and recessed from the outer peripheral edges 14 thereof. The finger gripping means 11 and 12, as shown in FIG. l, are comprised of two United States Patent O 3,537,726 Patented Nov. 3, 1970 Ice Ifinger gripping means 11 and 12 by placing his fingers in or through the holes 15. In this manner the child can stabilize and support himself within the toy. Another use for the finger gripping means is to allow the child to shift his weight within the toy by bending various amounts while still maintaining his balance and stability. This causes a shift in his center of gravity and permits some control of the speed at which the toy rolls.

The holes 15 in the finger gripping means 11 and 12 need not extend completely through the finger gripping means I11 and 12 but should be of a depth to allow the child to have a secure grip therein. Also the holes 15 need not be circular and may be of a size and shape that allow the child to place more than one finger in each hole. However, it is preferable that the finger gripping means 11 and 12 be recessed from the outer peripheral edges 14 of the body 10y such that the hand does not extend beyond the edges 14 when the child places his fingers in the iinger gripping means. It is also preferable that the edges around the holes be rounded and that they be lined with a soft material so as not to cut into the fingers of the occupant.

An alternative configuration for the linger gripping means 11 and 12 is that they be discontinuous, spaced members extending circumferentially around the inner portion of the body 10 rather than a continuous annular member as shown.

The toy may be formed of any suitable inexpensive yet durable material such as wood, metal or plastic. It is preferred that it be made of plastic and that it be in the form of a molded unitary integral body. It is also preferable that the body be comprised of a transparent plastic so as to allow the passenger to see where he is going when riding in the toy.

Another embodiment of the novel toy is shown with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3. In this embodiment the fingergripping means differs from the embodiment of FIG. 1 in that it is a single flange-like or raised portion which extends through the body 21 and which provides the cylindrical body 21 of the toy 20 with a thicker inner portion 22 than outer edge portion 23. It is preferred that this thick portion 22 be wider than the occupant. Also the holes 24 which extend transversely from the edges 25 and 26 of the thick inner portion 22, are in the form of spaced slots such that an occupant can place four fingers therein. The inner surface 27 of the thick inner portion 21 has a plurality of indentations 28 therein. The indentations 28 are of a size and configuration 50 as to permit the occupant of the toy to brace his feet therein, thereby providing additional stability for the occupant.

A third embodiment of the novel toy is shown with reference to FIG. 4. This embodiment incorporates a thicker inner portion 31 which is preferably comprised of or contains a resilient material, such as a polyurethane foam, so as to provide added comfort and safety to the occupant. The inner portion 31, as shown in FIG. 4, has a concave shaped inner surface 32 which conforms more to the shape and contour of the seated occupant than a fiat surface. It thereby adds to the comfort and stability of the occupant.

Alternatively, the thickened portion 31 may be made to be inflatable. In this event, a simple tieable air stem or a valve 36 is required for inliating purposes. If the outer walls 33 are made sufficiently thin and the thickened portion 31 is of the inflatable type, the toy can be made to collapse for easy storage when deated.

vfor example, by having an outwardly flaring extension 34 around the circumference of one outer edge of the toy and a recessed or shoulder portion 35 shaped to receive and mate with a similar outward extension from a second one of said toys.

When the toy is comprised of an opaque material which would prevent the occupant from viewing his direction of travel, the body of the toy can include a plurality of slots (not shown) therein through which the occupant can View where he is going.

What I claim is:

1. A passenger carrying rolling toy of the type comprised of an essentially cylindrical body having a width and an inner diameter large enough to completely contain said passenger in a seated position, the improvement comprising two sets of linger-gripping means having finger receiving holes each set recessed from an outer peripheral edge of said cylindrical body and extending circumferentially around the inner diameter of said body.

2. A passenger carrying toy as described in claim 1 wherein said finger-gripping means are flange-like portions extending radially inwardly from the inner surface of said cylindrical body and having a plurality of holes therein which extend in a direction transverse to said cylindrical body and start from the outer edges of said ange-like members, each of said holes being large enough for said passenger to insert at least one linger therein, said ange-like portion being sutliciently recessed from said outer peripheral edges of said cylindrical body such that the passengers hand or fingers are completely within said body when his fingers are placed within the holes of said finger-gripping means.

3. The toy described in claim 1 comprising a unitary molded plastic body.

4. The toy described in claim 1 including a plurality of spaced depressions around the inner surface of said cylindrical body, said depressions being of a size and configuration so as to allow said passenger to brace his feet therein.

5. The toy described in claim 1 wherein said cylindrical body is comprised of a continuous inner portion recessed from said outer peripheral edges which inner portion has a thickness greater than that at the outer peripheral edges, said inner portion having outer edge surfaces through which a plurality of linger grip holes extend transversely into said inner portion.

6. The toy described in claim 5 wherein said inner portion is comprised of a resilient material.

7. The toy described in claim 5 wherein said inner portion has a concave shaped inner surface so as to be better contoured with the body of said passenger.

8. The toy described in claim 5, said toy being comprised of a moldable plastic body.

9. The toy described in claim 5 wherein said inner portion is inatable, said toy including means for inating and deating said toy.

10. The toy described in claim 1 including means for interlocking a plurality of said toys together in a manner such that said interlocked toys can roll together.

11. The toy described in claim 10 wherein said interlocking means is comprised of an outwardly aring extension around the circumference of one outer edge of said body of said toy and the other of said outer edges having a shoulder portion shaped to receive and mate with a similar outward extension from a second of said toys.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,667,349 1/1954 Jacobson. 2,809,035 10/1957 Schumacher 272--1 2,953,394 9/1960 Anderson 280-207 3,066,951 12/1962 Gray 280-206 3,083,979 4/1963 Boyd 280-206 X 3,338,593 8/1967 Gehring 280-206 3,428,015 2/1969 Cloud 272-1 X FOREIGN PATENTS 682,951 10/1939 Germany.

KENNETH H. BETTS, Primary Examiner `U.S. C1. X.R. 272-1 

